Could the scandal of Stafford Hospital happen here?
We have learned today how managers at Stafford Hospital lost sight of the real purpose of a hospital, which is patient care. Management concentrated on the finance of the hospital instead of clinical care. There are lessons for the whole NHS here, and also lessons for us locally as the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust is also aiming to become a Foundation Trust. In Stafford, anxious to meet financial targets so that the hospital could become a Foundation Trust they reduced staffing levels while death rates soared. Today's report also highlights poor communication between management and clinicians, and the PCT was criticised for lack of clinical leadership.
